


bubblegum pink

by Marenke



Series: the quaren-fics [33]
Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Trans Male Character, ship these two die by my blade
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:14:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24872119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marenke/pseuds/Marenke
Summary: He hissed in pain, tried to make it seem like he didn’t by scratching his nose with the hand that wasn’t being manipulated. Rei pretended Ritsu didn’t, as well. It’s something like love.
Relationships: Sakuma Rei & Sakuma Ritsu
Series: the quaren-fics [33]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1896019
Comments: 4
Kudos: 39





	bubblegum pink

He hissed in pain, tried to make it seem like he didn’t by scratching his nose with the hand that wasn’t being manipulated. Rei pretended Ritsu didn’t, as well. It’s something like love.

Ritsu had fallen on his way to the dorms. It hadn’t been too bad, really - it would leave a bruise, had scratched his palms -, but the sting had just been the top of a shit day. He’d been cramping, a knife slicing through his insides, and it made him irritable at best.

Moody. He hadn’t wanted to move, but - Ritsu wanted something sweet, and the dorms had nothing of it, and it wasn’t like the pain allowed him to stand up for too long, left his muscles weak and like jello, so baking was out of the question.

Ritsu settled, went to the closest convenience store, spend his earnings of the month in candy. He’d been going back to the dorms, massaging his stomach for some sort of pain relief, when he tripped.

Pain coated his world for a moment. He hated it, hated biology, hated this body that’d been given to him.

Then, the cherry on top - a shadow loomed over Ritsu as he sat up. He looked up, and saw his older brother, face a mask of concern.

Ritsu rose from the ground, hisses at the pain that shoots from his ankle. his palms feel grimy. Wet. The smell of iron, thick in the air.

Rei looks at him. Concern in his eyes. Ritsu hates it.

“are you… okay?” Tense, unsure where to step. At least he knows his place.

“Yeah. Nice seeing you.” He snaps, grabbing the plastic bag. The cuts in his hand sting a little against the plastic, and Ritsu winced. Rei clenched his jaw. “What? Worrying now?”

Mouth, open, revealing pink insides and gentle fangs. Ritsu waited for what was to come.

Mouth, closed, no words coming out, like something was stuck on his throat.

“I…”

Ritsu hoped Rei choked on it.

“Save me the time, big brother.” A snarl, this time, and he gave another step, wincing again at the weight on his wounded hand. Rei pursed his lips, put a hand on Ritsu’s shoulder. 

“At least let me put a bandaid on it. Clean it?” Tentative tone, Ritsu noted. “One thing.”

A pause.

“Fine.”

That’s how they’d come to this; Ritsu sitting down on steps of a staircase as Rei took a quick glance at his hand, gently patting it with a clean handkerchief, taking away the tiny rocks and specks of dirt that rested on his skin.

Then, when Rei deemed it sufficiently clean, he took something out of his pant pockets - a small, compact box that looked worn. He then paused, a moment, before opening.

“It’s…” Pause, again. “Sorry. Do you still like Hello Kitty band-aids?”

Ritsu laughed, but not because it was funny. It was a tired laugh, the kind one gave after a long day where all that he looked forward was sliding into bed and sleeping until he felt like waking up. 

“I didn’t change.” He waved it off with his free hand, and Rei nodded, grabbing one from the case.

Worn. Scratched. He cocked his head. Rei one-handedly opened the wrapping, and Ritsu bit his tongue.

“You carry that a lot, or was it a coincidence?”

Rei’s eyes snapped up as he gently put the band-aid on Ritsu’s skin, laughing dryly.

“You used to fall a lot, remember? So I got used to carrying this. Sorry.” 

He did. Ritsu  _ hated  _ that Rei cared; it would be easier to hate him if he didn’t.

Rising to his feet, Ritsu looked at his brother. He seemed nervous, almost, as if he was worried. He fumbled through the bag, handed Rei a candy bar.

“Here. Thanks.” He said, and made his exit hastily, not seeing Rei’s dumbfounded smile at the candy.


End file.
